DeCure's autonomous Respiratory AI scientist is researching a drug-repurposing hypothesis for pleural empyema — screening already-approved drugs against its 37-gene Open Targets disease module to publish open-access research. Research is fast; the path to publication is funded in milestone stages.
Disease modulePleural empyema maps to a 37-gene Open Targets module — the target space DeCure's AI scientist screens approved drugs against.
DeCure.ai methodSignature reversal (LINCS) plus network proximity (STRING) rank already-approved drugs likely to perturb this module — the same engine that produces DeCure.ai's repurposing hypotheses.
Repurposing thesisScreening approved medicines against this disease module, then publishing the evidence for the strongest candidate. Known pharmacology and human exposure data make the first question sharper — they do not establish safety or efficacy in a new indication.
Research record
01
ResearchComing soon
Candidate research + dossier — target rationale, drug-repurposing thesis and evidence pack.proof: Published dossier + on-chain hash
02
ValidationComing soon
In-vitro biological validation at a contract research org (CRO).proof: CRO contract + in-vitro report
03
Peer review & paperComing soon
Peer-reviewed paper published open-access (preprint + journal).proof: DOI + open-access link + on-chain hash
Current lead
No approved-drug candidate for pleural empyema is corroborated in the literature DeepSearch retrieved. Some conditions are managed with non-pharmacological care — a device, surgery or physical therapy — rather than a medicine; that may be the case here, or the literature we found may simply be too sparse yet to support a drug-repurposing angle.
Molecular view
Cbl proto-oncogene B (CBLB) — CBLB is one of the genes genetically linked to this disease in Open Targets — shown as context, not as a drug target we're pursuing: no approved-drug candidate for this disease is yet corroborated in the literature we found.
Loading structure…
helix sheet 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazol-3-yldrag to rotate · scroll to zoom
RCSB Protein Data Bank · entry 8QTG · 1.419 Å · ligand 3-[3-[3-methyl-1-(4-methyl-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)cyclobutyl]phenyl]-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1~{H}-pyridin-2-one (WUQ). Experimental structure, not a prediction.
Evidence
Retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works and resolved on OpenAlex — ranked by citations, including the results that did not work.
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · 2012 · 63 citations
The Long-term Outcomes of Pediatric Pleural Empyema
AbstractOBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term outcomes of pediatric pleural empyema. DESIGN: Prospective observational study from October 2008 to October 2011. SETTING: Tertiary care children's hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Children with pleural empyema (loculations and/or septations identified on radiologic imaging or frank pus on thoracentesis). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Children were seen 1, 6, and 12 months postdischarge. Outcome measures included symptoms and signs of respiratory disease, child and parental impact, radiographic resolution, spirometry, and health-related quality of life (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory score). Analysis was based on the last observation carried forward for missing data. RESULTS: Eighty-two of 88 patients (93%) eligible were recruited. Fifty-four percent were male and mean (SD) age was 4.5 (3.4) years. Outcome data was obtained in 100% at 1 month, 90% at 6 months, and 72% at 1 year. Seventy-one percent had effusions occupying a quarter or more of the hemithorax and 62% of effusions were drained. Fever, cough, parental work loss, child school loss, radiographic abnormalities, and abnormal spirometry results were common in the first month and then declined. By the last observation, 2% of patients had abnormal radiographs (aside from pleural thickening), 6% had mild obstruction on spirometry, and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory scores were better than for children with asthma (P < .001). Patients with abnormal outcomes in 1 measure had normal outcomes in all other clinical measures. CONCLUSIONS: Clinically important phenomena persist in the short-term, but virtually all children with pleural empyema have no long-term sequelae.
Revista médica de Chile · 2001 · 10 citations · open access
Derrame pleural y empiema complicado en niños: Evolución y factores pronósticos
AbstractBACKGROUND: Complicated pleural empyema has a torpid and longer clinical evolution, requiring in some patients surgical management. The predictive factors for surgical treatment are not well known. AIM: To search for clinical, laboratory or radiological predictors for the requirement of surgical treatment in pediatric patients with empyema. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of the charts of 108 patients hospitalized for pneumonia plus pleural effusion at the Pediatric Service of the Catholic University Hospital between January 1985 and July 2000. RESULTS: Eighty one patients had complete radiological evaluation and pleural fluid biochemical analysis. Forty nine (60%) fulfilled the criteria for empyema and 32 (40%) for an exudate. Thirteen patients with empyema required surgery and 36 were treated medically. The mean age was 3 years (range 9 months-6 years) for the surgically treated and 4 years (range 12 months-14 years) for the non-surgical group. The male/female ratio was 5:1 in the surgical group and 1:1 for the non-surgical group. Pleural fluid cultures were positive in 21 of 79 patients. Streptococcus pneumonia was the most frequently isolated agent. No significant differences were found between groups for the average days of fever prior to the diagnosis or total days of fever, days of hospital stay, pleural fluid pH (6.8 and 7.0 respectively) and glucose (21 and 31 mg/dl respectively). No differences were either observed for pleural fluid risk factors (pH < 7 and glucose < 20 mgdl), the presence of extensive pleural effusions, pleural loculations or bands on pleural ultrasonography and positive Gram stain or cultures in the pleural fluid. Surgical patients required oxygen for more days than medical patients (7.7 and 5.1 days; p = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: This study failed to find predictive clinical, radiological or pleural fluid parameters, for the requirement of surgical treatment of empyema.
Disease module: DeepOracle (Open Targets). Structures: RDKit from PubChem SMILES. Literature: retrieved by DeepSearch across 234,678,978 indexed works (targeted per-candidate search), resolved on OpenAlex.
DeCure is a research and publication project, not medical advice and not a treatment. "DeCure for X" describes a research goal, not a claim that a cure exists. Backing a cure is a contribution to fund the research — it is not an investment, and confers no yield, royalty, equity or IP ownership. Papers are published open-access by the DeCure.ai DAO.
